Kickstarter: Digital Bolex D16 Shoots for Updating a Movie Camera Classic

  • Philip Bloom comments on a Kickstarter project for the Digital Bolex, a modern update to the motion picture camera first launched in 1927.
  • “Launched at SxSW this is one of most interesting camera concepts I have seen…a Digital Bolex, shooting 2K Raw with a 16mm equivalent sensor recording in DNG, TIFF or JPEG sequences AND with XLR inputs for recording audio,” Bloom writes.
  • Additional features include: 2048 x 1152 resolution (Super 16mm mode) and 1920 x 1080 pixels (16mm mode); frame rates up to 32fps at 2K, 60fps at 720p, 90fps at 480p; Kodak CCD sensor; 12 bit color depth (4:4:4); lens C-mount standard (optional: PL, EF, B4).
  • According to the project’s Kickstarter page, more than $287,000 has been raised thus far and 91/100 of the first Digital Bolex D16s sold in less than two days.
  • Bloom’s post includes a 26-minute audio interview with creators Joe Rubinstein and Elle Schneider.
  • Initial backers have an opportunity to get the camera for $2,500 (retail is expected to be about $3,300). The target release date is August. For you camera fans out there, this could be worth watching and/or backing.

2 Comments

  1. Great catch, Dennis! I don’t think I’ve heard “Bolex” since film school. Check out the site: “By 1941, the Bolex H16 was the most sought after 16mm camera in the world… In 1952, Bolex introduced the world’s first commercially available 3D camera. Many renowned filmmakers got their start in the 1960′s and 70′s shooting their first films on their family’s Bolex.”
    http://www.digitalbolex.com/

  2. Great catch, Dennis! I don’t think I’ve heard “Bolex” since film school. Check out the site: “By 1941, the Bolex H16 was the most sought after 16mm camera in the world… In 1952, Bolex introduced the world’s first commercially available 3D camera. Many renowned filmmakers got their start in the 1960′s and 70′s shooting their first films on their family’s Bolex.”
    http://www.digitalbolex.com/

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.